Tarantula
by L.V. Scarlette
Summary: Who said spiders are harmless?


Tarantula  
(R)  
By: Midnight Vampiress  
(midnight_vampiress@tuxedomask.com)  
**************************************************************************************WARNING: This fanfic contains terrifying content for some readers. This is a horror/romantic fanfic. So if you do not like suspense, or arachnids, then please leave now. Thank you.  
**************************************************************************************  
  
" Doctor Chiba you're needed at the emergency room now. There's a patient that needs immediate medical treatment, doctor. "  
  
Darien turned around and quickly headed for the emergency room without turning to give the nurse a grateful look. Muttering a quick thank you, he quickly pressed "L" for lobby and ran out of the elevator as soon as it opened, revealing the the white doors that read "EMERGENCY ROOM" in bold red.  
  
Quickly opening the doors, doctor Darien Chiba scanned all the patients being carried in, wondering which one was his. The loud sirens of ambulances echoed through the night air outside of the emergency room, while patients with head injuries and bleeding legs were carried in. Being only 26, and the youngest doctor in the hospital, Darien Chiba not only looked dashingly handsome, but he had a brain that was as sharp as a razor. Though it didn't seem to be functioning at that moment.  
  
His vision blurred and his head was pounding. His nostrils stung with the sharp scent of alchohol and his mind seemed to shut down every few seconds. He had beed awake for 29 hours and had not been able to sleep a wink with all the patients being brought in. Usually he left after his shift. However, for the past week, numerous patients have suddenly popped out and not all the doctors in Tokyo Hospital put together could cure them all in one day. There were too many and the cause of their sickness was far from evident. He was in lack of caffeign and sleep. Had it not been for the loud moans from the hospitals and spine-chilling faces the patients had, Darien would've snored off hours ago.  
  
" Doctor Chiba! We have another patient. Same thing as last time, " a femenine voice cut through Darien's mezmerized state as he finally woke up. His eyes were open though his mind was asleep.   
  
Blinking a few times, Darien regained his composure and smiled weakly at the nurse before him. " Thank you, Rei. Where is he? "  
  
Rei Hino pushed a strand of black hair away from her face and gestured toward the body of a patient being taken in. " He's a she, sir. Miss Carol Johnson. She had the same attack as the other victims, sir, though no one hasn't figured out the reason behind this yet. I'm afraid we have another load of work to do this time. "  
  
Darien frowned slightly, feeling a little too sick of all the attacks coming in that week. For the past seven days, patients have been brought in every hour of both day and night, and all of them were either purple, white, or a mixture of both. However, they all had one thing in common. Every single patient brought in looked like they were drained of all their fluids, and smelled like they had been wrapped in mold. (AN: I know that's two things but let's just leave it at one, ok?)   
  
Walking toward the patient, Darien braced himself for the terrible sight and scent that he would have to face again. But what he got....wasn't what he expected.  
  
As soon as he set his midnight blue eyes upon the face of his new patient, Darien instantly took a step back and leaned against a chair while restraining himself from barfing. Rei had covered her mouth and the other nurses turned away in disgust.  
  
The patient, who was suppose to be Carol, had a mixture of all the colors mentioned earlier, and surely this wasn't much since they have had to deal with this every day. And just like the others, she smelled of heavy mold and looked like her very life was sucked out of her. Perhaps it was. So what was the difference?  
  
Carol Johnson had a sheet of heavy, sticky threads that were stuck to every inch of her face. Her eyeballs were wide open and they seemed to be nearly popping out of their sockets. Her iris was white for it was covered with the sticky substance as well. (AN: Disgusting! I don't even know how I can stand writing this stuff.)  
  
Her purple, crippled lips, were set into a state of frozen terror and her mouth hung open, revealing a mass of the thick threads stuck to the roof of her mouth, her tonsils, and her paralized tongue. Her teeth were yellow though the color itself was covered with the thick silk.   
  
Her whole face was filled with the thick, sticky substance and had it not been for the sticky threads, her face would be grey since she almost looked like a skeleton. What was beneath her clothes would be unimaginable.   
  
Moving closer, Darien glanced at Rei, his friend's fiance, who was breathing hard. She looked as if she would pass out that very moment. Shock, disgust, and other unexplained emotions were written all over her features. He knew why.  
  
It was true that the sight before them was so shocking, that even the other patients who saw the scene stepped back in disgust. One of them even had to ran to the bathroom while another grabbed a paper bag. But there was another reason for the look of terror on Rei's face...or for the rest of the people's faces as well. They all knew that one of them had to pull down the blanket that covered Carol from her feet till her neck.  
  
Breathing hard, Darien took a few steps foreward before glancing at his fellow doctors. Obviously, the patient had died during the trip to the hospital. Perhaps she was already dead before that. But they were going to have to give her a few tests so they could study the substance all over her and whatever caused this, if they could detect the cause. That meant that they had to pull down the covers and peel off a part of her skin to take it as a sample. It was unimaginable.  
  
Lifting a firm hand to push his ebony strands away from his face, Darien straightened his back and restrained himself from barfing. Seeing that no one else would touch the corpse, Darien had to do it if they were going to get anywhere with this.  
  
Raising his hand one more time, Darien reached out to the covers, and mentally counted to three as slowly as he could. Darien was about to lift the covers when he stopped. Something caught his eye.  
  
Beneath the covers, he could see a buldge in the stomach area that looked like a large rock, bigger than his own hand. At first, he thought it was part of whatever deadly disease Carol had. But it moved. It was very still at first until it began to move around Carol's stomach when Darien touched the covers. It was as if the slightest movement alerted whatever was in there.  
  
After a few seconds, the object stopped once again, and looked as if it were ready to suddenly move again. But it didn't. It remained still under the covers and even though they couldn't see it, they somehow knew that it would probably jump up or something.  
  
Darien's suspicions were growing. He, and the other nurses and doctors in there, had an idea about what the object could be. But Carol's death and drained fluids only made them skeptical. No living thing was capable of draining someone of his or her fluids within only a few minutes.  
  
" Carol! Oh, Carol......what happened to her? Will she be alright? " A frantic femenine voice cried behind them, causing all eyes to fall upon the blonde beauty by the emergency room's door.   
  
Serena Tsukino ran toward the corpse of her friend and gasped in shock while crumbling to her knees. The other nurses caught her and lifted her back on her weak knees again. She tried to hold back any tears from escaping her crystal blue eyes....though it seemed futile.  
  
" Wha-what....what happened to her?! What is THAT?! What are those things on her face......" She cried, raising a trembling hand to cover her mouth.  
  
Rei was alerted by this and quickly wrapped the blonde in a tight hug. The blonde hugged her back and wept on her cousin's shoulder before turning back to face Carol. " Rei....what's going on? Why does she look like that? "  
  
Rei bit her bottom lip and tried to hold her own tears, but failed rather miserably. A few tears made their way down her cheeks. " I-I don't know. She-she just came in and-and......we don't know! " She cried, feeling helpless and worthless, knowing that she was unable to save her friend.  
  
Serena, by this time, had regained her composure and hugged her cousin before turning to face the other doctors. " Who is the doctor in charge of this girl? "  
  
" I am, " came a strong, masculine voice behind her, causing her to jolt around. Darien stepped up to Serena and took note of her worried, yet confused look.   
  
" YOU'RE the doctor? " She questioned, not really believing that someone who was probably only a few years older than her and incredibly handsome could actually be a doctor.  
  
Darien took note of her intense beauty before switching his mind back to the patient at hand. Extending an arm out, Darien nodded. " My name's Darien Chiba and I'm the doctor assigned for this case.....and you are? "  
  
Serena weakly accepted the handshake and flashed Carol a worried look. " Serena....Serena Tsukino. Rei's my cousin and when she called me, telling me that Carol had died, I-I just had to come here. "  
  
" You know Carol? "  
  
" Yes, doctor. She was a very good family friend, and a very cheerful one, too. I just never thought this would happen....."  
  
" I understand. Though, since you know Carol, then I'de have to ask you a few questions about her. Would you mind? "  
  
" Oh, no.....but what are the questions for? "  
  
" I will be asking you about her other friends, or any other information you know about her, since it may lead to the bottom of this thing. You see, we don't exactly know what happened or when it did happen, so we're guessing we could figure that out with some information that we don't have at the moment. "  
  
" Oh, that would be no problem. When should I answer this? "  
  
" Perhaps later. Right now, I'm afraid I have to work on this case and try to get some samples for observation. This may take a long time, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning at the most. Would this bother you? "  
  
" No-no....it wouldn't. If waiting is what we need to get to the bottom of this, then I'll wait. "  
  
Darien nodded and flashed her a reasurring glance before turning back to the body. The buldge was still there, and it still wasn't moving. Serena had noticed this as well, but did not ask.  
  
Raising his hand, Darien gripped the cover and took note of the buldge, which seemed to flinch. But it remained where it was.   
  
His heart was pounding and beads of sweat ran down his neck. His whole body was trembling but he had to do this. What more, he could feel Serena's worried eyes upon him, as if to question him as to what he was going to do. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, Darien mentally counted to three again and this time, without interruptions, he pulled the covers back and quickly jumped back when he found what was there.  
  
All the other people screamed and jolted backward. Some even ran out of the emergency room.  
  
There, on top of Carol's thread-infested stomach, lay a black tarantula with long, spiky, hair and big, black eyes that seemed to watch the world around it with keen observation. It's fangs were sharp and sticky with dripping venom while it's front legs were raised, as if it were going to attack.  
  
It was huge! It was the size of two large palms put together and it looked like a big, black ball of hair that stuck out in every direction.   
  
In the flash of a second, the large arachnid jumped up on the hospital walls and crawled around in great speed. This caused all the people to run to the center of the room where they were rather far from the creature.   
  
Stopping by the automatic doors, the tarantula quickly crawled out of the room when the doors opened to let it through. It's black hair blended into the dark grass as it scurried away into the night.  
  
Serena, who had been watching the whole thing in utter digust and shock, felt her stomach twirl together in knots. Her head began to pound heavily as a wave of nausea surrounded her. A musty scent had made it's way to her nostrils, resulting to her dizziness growing worse.   
  
At last, she felt she could hold it no longer. Her legs gave way and and her mind processed nothing more. Darkness took over.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It's black eyes stared at her with keen observation.   
  
It's hair thick and long, ready to prick her thighes.   
  
It's thick legs slowly made their way to her stomach as it raised it's front legs, revealing it's hairy abdomen.  
  
Thick silk leaked through it's exposed bottom, as it began wo weave it's thread of doom on her.....  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena jolted up with a start. The nightmare was still clear within her mind and she could almost smell the scent she had inhaled earlier at the emergency room. Sweat poured down her already wet forehead and made their way down her neck, making her cringe. The tiny beads felt like the thick legs of a spider on her........  
  
" I see you're awake. "  
  
Jolting her head around, Serena squinted as she came face to face with the bright rays of the sun shining from a large window. She had recalled seeing the spider run out of the room that night, but the rest was blank.  
  
Her eyes finally adjusted to the bright light and her vision cleared, allowing her to see the strong body build of Darien Chiba, who stood next to the leather couch she lay on.  
  
" Doctor.....? "  
  
" Darien....please, just Darien will do. "  
  
Serena blinked twice before fully comprehending what he had just said. Fear was still running within her and her brain had not began to fully process yet.   
  
" Darien, " she nodded, before looking up to fully face him. " what am I doing here? What just happened? "  
  
Her muscles finally began to move though her knees were still weak. She tried to stand up but only succeeded in falling, only to be caught in Darien's arms. Of course, being a gentleman, Darien's first instinct was to catch a lady and help her back to her feet. But this time, he did not.  
  
For a moment of silence, the two were lost in each other's eyes, not remembering that they were in each other's arms. It was rather comfortable actually. Though this silence was not to last.  
  
" Um....thanks, " Serena smiled weakly upon realizing what just happened.  
  
Darien had snapped out of his fantasy as well and nodded while helping her sit back down on the couch. Grabbing his chair from behind his desk, Darien rolled it in front of the couch so that it faced Serena. Flashing her a reasuring smile, he sat down on the comfortable seat.  
  
Reaching out behind his desk, Darien grabbed a sheet of paper on a clipboard and scanned through the words written on it worriedly, as if he dreaded what Serena's reaction to this might be. He looked as if he had already read the paper before, but his face still showed complete dusgust and fear.  
  
Serena took note of this and quietly cleared her throat, making sure it was loud enough to remind Darien that she was in the room. Whatever he was reading was surely something she, too, had to be aware about.  
  
" Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? " Darien aplogized, flashing her an apologetic look.  
  
Serena smiled shyly before interrogating. " Actually, the question should be....what exactly happened here ?"  
  
Clearing hsi throat slightly, Darien shot her a look that asked her if she was ready to hear this. However, that wasn't really needed at the moment. She was more than ready. She had to know what happened to her dear friend.  
  
" Ms. Tsukino...."  
  
" Serena, just call me Serena, " she smirked.  
  
Darien cocked his brow and smiled. " Serena....I'm afraid this won't be very pleasant news. "  
  
" Go on...."  
  
" You see, none of us have really known the cause for Carol's death, or the other patients for that matter. But we have taken a sample of Carol's skin and-"  
  
" You took a sample of her skin?! "  
  
" Um....yes, Serena. The other doctors and I had to do so if we were going to record any observations on this. "  
  
" I see. "  
  
" Anyway, through the sample we have taken, we have noted that the attack Carol recieved was obviously from a Tarantula....a very unique one too, if I might add. "  
  
" I noticed. "  
  
" And this....creature, seemed to have a rather powerful venom, since the bacteria left in Carol's skin by the spider silk on her, and probably the venom itself, showed a high concentration of activity taking place within her body. This activity seem to be some kind of unknown virus that appears to feed on the life fluids of humans, which is why Carol, and the other patients, were sucked dry. "  
  
" Oh....."  
  
" Now, this is exactly what happened to the other patients. They're fluids were sucked out as well, and records show that all the patients have had the exact same virus Carol had....which tells us that only one spider is behind all of this. "  
  
Serena seemed to be lost in deep thought for a moment, but quickly flashed Darien a glance that signaled him to go on.  
  
" Now, since this is exactly what happened to the other patients we've been having, we have many similarities between this patient and the others....but we only have a few differences. Would you like me to list them all for you? "  
  
" Yes, please. "  
  
" Alright....first off, as I have said, all the victims have been sucked dry. The virus is that of the one spider that has been causing all of this trouble. "  
  
" Yeah...."  
  
" Second, all of their facial expressions are either displaying shock, terror, or usually both. This means that this certain spider seemes to attack it's victims by surprise and injects it's venom in the victim's skin which instantly paralyzes the victims. I'm guessing that this is what leaves their facials expressions frozen. "  
  
" Oh...."  
  
" At this point, they are not dead yet. But the tarantula didn't seem to male any furthur movement. From the reports that some neighbors have been seeing, the tarantula was said to have entered a victim's house and leave within a couple of minute later.....less than five as some witnesses have recorded. This means that it may have gone out in search of a new victim. So while the victims inside the house are paralyzied, the bacteria injected into the human blood then begins to quickly take over, leaving the victim dead after a few minutes. By that time, all they're fluids have been sucked dry. "  
  
Serena held her breath as if she couldn't believe that this happened to Carol. She didn't seem as if she wanted to hear any more of this, but she and Darien both knew that he had to go on.  
  
" There are a few more similarities but I do not need to go any further than that. Now, for the differences......unlike the other patients, Carol was covered in spider silk. Now you must be wondering why this happened to her and not the others, am I right? "  
  
Serena nodded weakly, her eyes still frozen in terror.  
  
" Well, usually in this season, tarantulas mate. This is the mating season for certain creatures, as I have heard, and even tarantulas must find a partner to produce eggs. What I am about to tell you is the only reasonable explanation we can think of for what we have observed, though a few things throw us off. "  
  
" Which are....? "  
  
" One, tarantulas are very rare here in Tokyo, and probably only about four or five actually exist here. Two, tarantulas are never that big and they usually live off the border of Tokyo. They don't go around sucking numerous people's fluids either, especially when those people haven't even threatened them in any way. And three, this certain tarantula we are talking about didn't seem to have a mate, so that either makes it a male or female. We can't tell. "  
  
" So....."  
  
" So, this tarantula seemes to be an asexual reproductive creature. It produces eggs on it's own. "  
  
" And what exactly does this have to do with Carol? "  
  
" We found a sack of tarantula eggs between Carol's thighs. "  
  
Serena's hand instantly shot up to her mouth, as a wave of nausea came over her again. Darien knew he was a little too sudden upon saying that, but he couldn't really think of any other way of telling her this at the moment.  
  
" I know it's disgusting...and-and, and all the other words I can't really think of right now...but we have taken the sack of eggs away from Carol's body, studied it, and..."  
  
" And....? " Serena choked out, somehow regretting she asked.   
  
" Let's just put it this way: we didn't need it anymore so we got rid of it. "  
  
A picture of someone stepping on a sack of tarantula eggs flashed through Serena's mind, causing her stomach to flip around even more. Just picturing about a hundred eggs covered in thick spider silk, being squashed by a shoe which ends up having all the sticky thread under it was just utterly digusting. Disgusting didn't even seem like the right word for it.  
  
" So-so you're saying that....there were...baby tarantulas in there? "  
  
" Not really.....the eggs were actually empty and were only filled in thick spider silk. I'm guessing watever was in there could've developed into spiderlings had we not squashed it. That was probably why that tarantula was on Carol's abdomen. I'm guessing it was guarding the eggs for some reason. "  
  
" Oh....."  
  
" So now, we have to kill the creature. "  
  
" How? "  
  
" Teams of trained arachnid handlers have been sent out to search for the spider. Once they find it, they are to paralyze it so we could record more observations. That should take less than an hour. After that, I suppose they'll kill it. Once that tarantula is brought in here, it will only have so much time to live. We don't need any more victims. "  
  
Serena nodded in understandment and began to loose herself in her own little word again while fear remaied evident on her face.   
  
Darien was in the same state as well and only a heavy silence filled the room.   
  
The silence was broken by the sound of shrill screams outside the office door. This quickly alerted the two and they both stood up and went outside to see what the commotion was about.  
  
There, in a large glass case which was being rolled off to the observation room, stood the tarantula, big and black, and full of anger as it restlessly jumped all around the glass case, trying to break free. The handlers were dressed in a silver suit that would prevent the creature from getting in and were quickly running toward to the observation room to record observations. This creature had to be put to death as soon as possible.  
  
Darien, Serena, and all the other people in that particular hallway, watched the scene in terror, hoping that the creature would finally die.  
  
" Doctor Chiba! " A male voice called from behind them as a man in a silver suit, the same one the other men were wearing, jogged up to Darien, almost breathless.  
  
" Mr. Thompson...." Darien remarked, wondering why the middle-aged man was breathing heavily.   
  
" Darien....." He stated, leaning against the wall for support. " I take it you've seen that we have caught the dreadful little creature. "  
  
" Yes, I have....and why was it not asleep? "  
  
" My boy....that thing was paralyzed. We shot tranquilizers at it and it only remained frozen for about a minute. It was enough for us to secure it in that glass case, but it woke up right after. That thing is too powerful for even four tranquilizers. "  
  
" Four?! "  
  
" Yes, four. I'm afraid we'll have to take a quick shot from it's body parts and do nothing more. That will take a longer process of observation but if we go any furthur and try to take a shortcut, that thing will be scurrying all around this hospital. It's getting extremely restless and we can't give it any more tranquilizers. "  
  
" Why not? "  
  
" The tranquilizers only seem to make it more restless after it freezes for a certain ammount of time. If that thing gets any more energetic, then the glass case will break and it's going to be running around here. "  
  
" So you can only take a shot, then kill it? "  
  
" Yes, but the problem is....we don't know how to kill it. "  
  
" What do you mean? "  
  
" Like I said....the tranquilizers only make it more restless. A hundred tranquilzers might kill any other creature in an instant but that thing might only freeze for a few more minures and start moving again. What if the tranquilizers don't work and it only ends up breaking the glass? We can't risk any more lives around here. "  
  
" So what do you plan to do? "  
  
" We don't know yet, but I'm guessing that once it's paralyzed, we could quickly take the glass case off and slice it open. But that would be too risky, as well. "  
  
Serena, who had been listening the whole time, cringed at the word "slice" and raised her hand to cover her mouth again. Mr. Thompson noticed this and flashed her an apologetic look.  
  
" Well, I can only wish you goodluck, sir. That thing is dangerous and I hope you know what you're doing. "  
  
" So do I, my boy. So do I. Anyway, they'll be needing me right now, so I'de better get going. "  
  
At that, Mr. Thompson turned on his heels and ran toward the observation room. No one had any idea that the creature was actually that strong.  
  
Turning toward Serena, Darien flashed her a worried glance before taking his doctor's coat off.  
" So, Serena....would you like me to give you a ride home? I won't have any work until a few hours later so I could take you home if you want. "  
  
Serena wrapped her arms around herself as a source of comfort and nodded. Though she didn't to do that, for Darien wrapped his strong arms around her as well, while leading her toward his car. If both of them were going to survive through this, they would need each other.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The drive to Serena's house was silent. Darien was focued on the road and the directions to Serena's house that she had written down on a piece of paper. Serena's eyes remaied glued to the streets they were passing.  
  
Sammy would be expecting her right now. She could only wonder how he felt about not being greeted by anyone after coming home from his girlfriend's place in New York. What would he say if he found out why no one was there? Would he be scared? Or would he actually be interested in this type of thing, being the adventurous brother she always knew him to be?  
  
Her mind was caught up in a tidal wave of questions when something broke her train of thoughts. From the side view mirror on the passenger's seat, Serena caught sight of something black scurring down the street as fast as it's little legs could carry it......or were it's legs really little?  
  
Something seemed to be chasing after them. It seemed to go in and out of the sewage holes on the side of the sidewalk and it looked as if it didn't want them to disappear out of sight. Fear began to grip Serena once again but she forced herself not to think about it. It must've been her imagination, since she had been seeing too many pictures of a hairy spider in real life and in her nightmares. But this didn't go unoticed by Darien.  
  
Fear shot up through him but he kept his control with him and held himself from panicing. Instead of gasping, he remained silent and focused on the road, pretending that nothing was after them.  
  
Stepping on the gas, he increased his car's speed and made a sharp turn to the right while thanking God that there were no other cars in the area at that moment.  
  
Serena had taken note of this and flashed Darien a puzzled look. " This isn't the way to my house. Why are we passing here? "  
  
" I know....but let's just say there's something on my back that I wanna get rid of. "  
  
Serena's eyes went wide in fear as the realization that it wasn't her imagination causing this dawned on her. Something WAS after them....and it was fast.  
  
Darien slowly began stepping on the gas harder than before, going passed the speed limit which was 60. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he made another sharp turn to the right but quickly turned to the left and made another turn to the right.  
  
By this time, Serena was beggining to sense his panic through his mask of calmness. The way he was driving so fast wasn't helping her either. However, if this is what it took to get a pyschopathic creature off their backs, then she'd try to survive through it all.  
  
Glancing back to the side view mirror, Serena noticed that the creature had disappeared. She couldn't see any black thing running after them anymore, and this served as a source of relief for the frightened blonde. However, this relief was not to last.  
  
Out of nowhere, the big black thing popped out into view again and it seemed to be running faster than after. Fear began to creep up Serena's spine again but it suddenly halted when she felt the car suddenly move at incredible speed.  
  
She flashed Darien another puzzled look though she knew it wasn't needed. Their lives were practically in danger here and if they didn't get rid of that thing then they would never see another day in their lives any longer.  
  
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Darien poured half of his strength into stepping on the gas, resulting in an increased speed limit, that went from 80, to 90, and all the way to 100. This was not looking good.  
  
Serena felt as if her heart would stop any second now. Everytime she looked at the side view mirror, she could still see the tarantula running after them, and each time they increased in speed, so did the blasted creature.  
  
Serena felt her heart speed up as well. It was thuding in her chest so hard, she felt as if it would jump out of her chest. And perhaps it did.  
  
The car came to a suddent halt, causing Serena's heart to leap out through her chest. The heavy thudding was audible and seemed to be accompanied by another faint sound.  
  
Aside from the thudding of her heart, Serena could hear Darien's heart thudding as well. Turning toward him, she flashed him one of her questioning looks, only to recieve a worried glance. That wasn't much of a reassurance.  
  
Serena took note that Darien held the steering wheel even firmer and his eyes were on the rear view mirror. There, she saw the black taranrtula quickly making it's way to their car, as it came nearer and nearer. It seemed to increase it's speed in anticipation, especially now that it knew they weren't running away anymore.  
  
At first, Serena kept telling herself that Darien was only doing that to grab a short break before going on full speed again. But as the seconds passed, and they still remained frozen, she was beggining to think that the man was insane.  
  
She couldn't hold it any longer.  
  
" Darien what the hell do you think you're doing?! Why did you stop? That thing is after us! "  
  
" I know. "  
  
Serena wanted to yell at him and ask him why he wasn't doing anything if he knew what was going on. But then again, she was frozen. Frozen in shock, frozen in deisbelief, and frozen with the fear of knowledge. Knowledge that told her they were going to die, because the hunky man beside her was a psychopath as well.  
  
Leaning back against her seat, she shut her eyes tight, knowing that there was nothing she could do anymore. She couldn't climb out of the car because she knew that there was a spider that was now only a few feet away from them. Though she couldn't stay in here either because that would be suicide. No air since they could not open the windows....no food since he did not keep any crumbs of bread or drops of water in his car. if he was planning to trap themselves both in his car until they died, then she might as well die right away.   
  
She was about to give up all hope when a sudden movement made her bounce slightly in her seat. The next thing she knew, they were driving backwards. The speed was even faster than before, though this time, they were in reverse position and were heading straight for the area in which they had started at....and at the spider!  
  
This time she REALLY couldn't hold it any longer. She had to scream.  
  
She tried to hold it within her, but a shrill voice squeeked out of her mouth, resulting to another one, followed by a loud scream that lasted for about two seconds. Her voice was a little too frozen for more.  
  
The sound of burning tires echoed through the air as Darien's wheels scratched the paved street. The next thing she knew, they had turned right and were dirving foreward this time, still at full speed. But this time....the spider was gone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien pulled up in front of Serena's house and jogged outside to open the door for her. Reaching in with both hands, Darien carried Serena out of her seat since the poor girl had fainted. (AN: She keeps fainting, doesn't she?)  
  
He tried to be as gentle as possible, and he was. Though she still woke up and gasped in fear. Darien's first thought was that she saw the spider in front of her on the car or maybe on the street. But after a tiny squeek that she let out of her lips, Serena's breathing returned to normal as she gave out a sigh of relief.  
  
Setting her back down on her feet, Darien looked deep into her eyes and smiled. " Had a bad dream, I take it? "  
  
It took Serena a moment of comprehension and remembrance before answering. " Um...yes, thank you. What-what happened? Where is it? Is it gone? "  
  
Darien nodded while placing an arm around her shoulder. " Yes....let's just say we ran over it. "  
  
This brought a look of disgust to Serena's face but that was quickly erased by a look of relief.  
  
" It's dead? "  
  
" Yes, it's dead. Gone forever.....we're safe. "  
  
Serena found this rather hard to believe at first, but the news was too great for her to worry. In her great happiness, she wrapped her arms around Darien, enveloping him in a tight hug.  
  
Darien was taken back by this at first but he responded quickly and wrapped his own muscular arms around her as well.  
  
" Thank you, " she whispered while nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.  
  
Darien smiled into her hair and hugged her tighter. " I couldn't have done it without you. "  
  
" You know....you're a pretty good driver. "  
  
" And you're a pretty good screamer for one thing. You're the first woman that didn't break my eardrums, " he teased with a smirk.  
  
Serena rolled her eyes and playfully punched him before wrapping him in another hug. " Call me? " she whispered.  
  
Darien nodded before placing a kiss on her cheek. Serena smiled at him sweetly before reaching into her blazer pocket to grab a business card.  
  
" Sorry...that's all I have right now, " She apologized while handing him her card.  
  
Darien laughed and handed her his as well. " Same with me. "  
  
Serena grinned at him and bit her lower lips before turning to her house. " Well, I-I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow? "  
  
" Sure. How does coffee and 7 a.m. sound like? Or maybe dinner tonight would work. "  
  
Serena pretended to think about that for a moment and grinned evily. " I think both sound like two good plans to me....that is, if it's not out of your budget. "  
  
Darien frowned and gave her a puppy look, causing her to giggle. " Hey...I didn't work for more than 24 hours for nothing. Besides, I wouldn't miss it for the world. "  
  
Serena smiled at him and walked up her front steps while pulling out her house keys from her pocket. " Well....thank you for everything, Darien. You saved my life. "  
  
" And you just made mine. "  
  
A faint blush rose to her cheeks as Darien pressed his warm lips against hers. The feeling was unlike anything she had felt before. It was a gentle, warm sensation, of strong electricity that surged within their bodies. And this made her respond back with ease.  
  
After a moment of comfortable kisses, the two parted and headed in their own direction. Darien stood by his car, blew her a kiss, and made sure she had safely gotten back inside her house before heading back inside the driver's seat. Perhaps all this was actually worth it. After all, he wouldn't have met her if it weren't for that tarantula.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena watched him speed off from her window before drawing the curtains. This didn't seem to be such a bad day after all. In fact, the man was far from insane. Perhaps SHE was the one out of her head....or maybe she was just in love.  
  
" I come home and discover you gone, only to find that you've been going out with another man? "  
  
A familiar voice came from the stairway as the memory dawned on her. Serena gasped and turned around to see her brother, Sammy, standing by the railing.  
  
" Sammy! Oh, you're here! " She exclamed while wrapping him in a tight hug.  
  
Sammy hugged her back as well but not before teasing her playfully. " Yeah I am.....but you weren't. "  
  
" Oh, I'm so sorry! It's just that Carol had passed away and..."  
  
" I know. Rei called me and told me that you were at the hospital. Though by the looks of mr. Knight in Shining Armor out there...I don't think you even knew about this. "  
  
" Oh, shut up! I did....it's just that the man you just saw was a doctor at Tokyo Hospital and he was nice enough to give me a ride home. "  
  
" Oh sure....a ride home. So I suppose he was nice enough to give you a kiss too, huh? "  
  
" Sammy! You were watching us?! "  
  
Sammy laughed before wrapping his sister in another hug. " I couldn't help it. I heard a car pull up in front of our house so I had to check if it was you. But instead of finding my sister with the keys to the house, I found two lovebirds playing tonsil hockey. "  
  
" C'mon...the kiss wasn't THAT deep. "  
  
" Yeah...but it will be. I mean, c'mon! Look at me and Janet. We started out with pecks on the cheek and small coffee breaks but now look at us....we're stuck like glue. "  
  
  
" Well, let's just talk about this tomorrow. I've had a crazy day so far and right now, I think I want some lunch. "  
  
" Oh, I have some good news for you, sis. I cooked your favorite pasta for you, because I had a feeling you'de be back right now. "  
  
" Oh my God! You didn't....."  
  
" Yes, I did. It's in the kitchen, warm and ready for you to feast on it. "  
  
" Oh, Sammy! " She exclaimed and wrapped her tall brother in another hug. Sammy smiled, knowing that his sister would at least have a good lunch.  
  
Serena flashed him a smile and was about to head for the kitchen when she felt her brother's strong hand gently tug her wrist.   
  
" What's wrong? "  
  
" I have another surprise, " he smirked as he began to lead her to his room. Serena cocked her brow in suspicion but allowed him to lead her anyway.   
  
" I got it from Janet cause her uncle's a pet shop owner, remember? "  
  
" Yeah...I remember you told me that. "  
  
" Good....so Janet said her grandpa told me I could have it, and I didn't have to pay a dime. So I brought it over here, " he stated while pulling her inside his room.  
  
" It? "  
  
" Yeah....now tell me what you think. "  
  
Serena gasped at what lay before her. There, in a glass case filled with sticky silk, stood a tarantula smaller than the one she had encountered, but it still had spikey black hair and observant eyes that watched her every move. Perhaps her day was far from over.  
  
**************************************************************************************  
  
Author's Notes: Yes, I know it's a rather typical ending though it seems okay to me. I'm really sorry if you found this fanfic to your displeasure, but I warned you didn't I?  
  
Anyway, I would appreciate it if you reviewed my work. Comments would be nice though I do not accept flames. If you want to email me with your comments then that's fine with me. If you want to review my work, then that works as well. Either way, I look foreward to your replies. I am new to this site so I would appreciate some compliments. :)  
  
Please excuse any spelling errors I have created. I have written this whole thing in one day so typos could strike very often. If there were any, then I'll be more careful nextime.  
  
So thank you for reading my fanfic and I shall be working on the next fanfic I will be sending in. (The next one is not going to be based around horror scenes like this one.) Until nextime, I shall see you all at dawn.  
  
~ In the darkness there is a light, in which all beings unite. ~ 


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